The Sabaoth's Arrow by J. F. Mehentee

Author:J. F. Mehentee [Mehentee, J. F.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781912402205
Goodreads: 46137421
Publisher: P in C Publishing
Published: 2019-08-25T16:00:00+00:00

16

The stone pillars blocked dawn’s light, casting long shadows across the basin. Roshan sat in the shadow of what looked like a giant stalagmite. She shuffled sideways to catch the rays of the rising sun and warm her back.

Roshan examined the ten uncut diamonds she held. The warmth from the burning pile of charcoal offered little comfort during the cold and miserable night. Its oily fragrance smelled to Roshan like defeat.

Not one diamond had come from a piece of charcoal that hadn’t scorched the surrounding lumps. She’d done as Manah had instructed and concentrated on what she wanted: an uncut diamond the size of the nail on her little finger. She had tried her best not to think about pressure and heat, leaving that to the sentient Domain power to figure out. If the Domain power had warned her, let her know her thoughts had strayed from the outcome she’d wanted, Roshan hadn’t felt it.

Her inability to sense the wrongness of the magic she wove left her deflated. She kept going over Manah’s words: Whether or not you want to, you could destroy the world with a single thought.

He’d said she was very dangerous, and from the burning pile of charcoal it was clear why.

Roshan threw the diamonds onto the fire, then straightened her tunic’s collar against last night’s chill.

‘You’ve given up.’

Manah stood on the opposite side of the fire, his forehead crimped.

‘The heat, I couldn’t confine it,’ she said.

The lamassu prodded the fire, separating the charcoal from the diamonds to study them.

‘I had hoped for a little better,’ he said. ‘Did you try the second exercise?’

Roshan’s shoulders tensed.

‘So long as it just swam up and down the length of the trough, I managed to keep the water around the fish cool. If it changed direction suddenly, the poor thing died.’

Her explanation sounded like an excuse. It didn’t matter. If she couldn’t stop herself from burning more than one lump of charcoal or boiling a fish, what kind of harm might she inflict on the innocent every time she wove sabaoth magic?

‘You’ve only been practising for one night,’ Manah said. ‘It took Yesfir two years to add to what you’d already learned as a novice and to teach you djinn magic. You’re not making excuses, but you are expecting too much of yourself.’

Roshan relaxed a little.

‘If you’re suggesting it will take years before I can master sabaoth magic, how am I supposed to help the djinn and daevas? You said yourself, Armaiti has the seal and she’ll use it against them. Can you speed up my learning or improve the accuracy of my thoughts?’

Manah scraped a cloven hoof against the rock.

‘That’s not what God sent me here to do.’

About to burst, Roshan took a deep breath to calm herself.

‘If it’s going to take me years’—she held out a hand and drew a circle around the fire—‘what are we doing here? What’s the point of me making diamonds and boiling fish?’

Manah smiled.

Is he enjoying himself? Roshan wondered.

‘No djinn or human has ever had such a gift as yours, Roshan.

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